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Post by skyeknight on Jun 12, 2017 18:30:05 GMT
Namine was starting to get the hang of her spells. Ralph's advice had been quite sound. If she couldn't practice memory manipulation, like she knew she could do, she had to practice other magic, so that she could control magic in general better. While the library did have a large selection to choose from, she decided to head out to the marketplace and see if there were other books out there aside from 'Spell work for dummies' or 'Happy Houdini's Spells.' The lessons, while simple, made her feel better and if she dared to say it, a little more confident. At least better about herself than she had felt since Vanitas snatched her off the streets. She carried her little basket with her as she perused the stores and wares the stalls and shops had. |
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 13, 2017 19:53:00 GMT
At the back of the bookstore was a small café that served coffees and pastries and sitting at one of the small wooden tables was Anna. On the table in front of her was a cup of lightly steaming coffee and a single cherry Danish. Pascal was with her that day and happily eating away at the pastry while she sipped at her sugar-laced coffee.
It was clear from one look at Anna's face that she wasn't feeling particularly well and there was good reason for it. It had already been two days since Axel and Shadow had destroyed all her work, but the hurt of what they had done was as fresh and sharp as ever. It was also two days since she had taken the risk of testing her only remaining sample of serum....
As the small chameleon worked his way to the cherry filling in the center of the Danish, Anna pulled out a brightly colored notebook and flipped it open before starting to write in it her daily entry. Ever since she had injected herself with the serum, she had been taking careful notes regularly on her physical state. So far, the only major thing she had noticed was that her senses seemed to have grown stronger. She could hear, see, smell and sense things that she normally wouldn't have picked up on but otherwise she seemed to be the same. Still....
Pausing in her writing, she put the pen down and placed two fingers along her wrist to record her pulse. She was careful to take her vitals on a daily basis just in case anything.... unexpected were to happen. However, once again everything seemed to be normal. Picking up the pen, she once more resumed her writing.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 13, 2017 20:06:08 GMT
Namine paused when she got to the book shop - one with a café. Was it cheating on Nevermore if she got a pastry from someone else? Oh well, the staff at Nevermore never had to know. So she waited in line and got herself a brownie and a peach tea. Except, there wasn't anywhere for her to sit and enjoy it. She looked through the tables but each one of them was taken. She slipped her brownie into her basket and resigned herself to carrying her drink with her through the store. If she had known that, she would have waited to get her sweet treat fix.
Still, they had books on roller carts outside of the shop, so she looked through them, in case any of them were over what she needed to read up on. Remedial magic without being condescending towards late bloomers like herself. Because if she had to read 'Spellwork for Morons' one more time, she was chucking the book at the wall. Her roommate found it amusing and offered to help. Aqua's assistance was good, but Namine needed to know as much as she could as fast as she could and Aqua couldn't help all the time.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 13, 2017 20:24:11 GMT
Anna was just recording her pulse into the notebook and comparing it to the previous day's recording when a strangely familiar scent suddenly came to her. She paused while a light frown came over her face, sniffing at the air. There was certainly a smell present that hadn't been there beforehand and it seemed so very familiar to the young medical examiner. It was a strange yet pleasant mixture of paint and ink with something floral that might have been lilac. However, she couldn't seem to place it despite how much it tickled the back of her mind.
Pascal seemed to pick up on Anna's mood. Looking up at her with a cherry in his little hands, he cocked his head to the side and chirped questioningly. Anna shook her head and smiled down at the reptile.
"It's ok, Pascal. Just caught a smell I can't seem to place and..."
As she spoke, Anna looked up from her journal and saw a familiar figure standing only a few yards away. It was Namine and, strangely enough, the scent seemed to be coming exclusively from her. Blinking in mild confusion, Anna saw the young woman had a drink but no place to sit and enjoy it.
"Hey! Hey, Namine! Over here!"
Standing partially in her seat, Anna waved to try and catch the sketch artist's eye.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 13, 2017 20:36:06 GMT
Namine looked up from the book cart when she heard her name being called. She looked around before she spotted Anna. She blinked in surprise. She had never really spoken much to Anna. Their paths didn't cross on a daily basis - only when a body came in past recognition where Namine had to re-draw their face. Always gruesome work, though Anna tried to keep things peppy and upbeat despite the morbid drawing. Namine always appreciated that about her. Anna was always so nice even if they rarely spoke.
She shyly left the cart and joined Anna at her table. She did have to do a double take on Anna's pet lizard who was helping himself to the fruity filling of Anna's Danish. That was really cute. She still felt that wave of shyness sweeping over her. How different the two of them were. Anna was outgoing and easy going. Namine was painfully shy and meek. Though, she was hopeful things could work out despite that.
"H-Hello," she greeted.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 14, 2017 7:45:42 GMT
Namine looked up when she heard her name and quickly spotted Anna. Slowly, she made her way over to the table and offered a timid hello, acting almost as if they were strangers. Well, that wasn't very surprising given that their lines of work normally kept them apart while at the BPD and there hadn't been many opportunities for socializing.
Not only that but they were also polar opposites when it came to personality. Still, that didn't stop her from offering the young woman a smile and gesturing to the empty seat across from her.
"See you got yourself a drink but no place to sit and drink it. Wanna join me?"
Anna's demeanor was far more subdued then normal but the offer was still polite and friendly enough. Pascal, who had stuck his head inside the Danish, looked up as the young blonde woman approached and chirped a greeting. His mouth was covered in cherry sauce and he quickly stuck out a long tongue to lick it off.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 14, 2017 18:12:19 GMT
"You... don't mind?" Namine asked.
It was a silly question. If Anna minded she wouldn't have offered. So the little blonde sank herself into the seat across from Anna. She still looked like she expected Anna to shoo her off, but was trying not to. It was going to take a little while longer for her to get over the gut reaction that no one wanted her around after all. A shy smile twitched at the corner of her lips when she caught sight of the mess Anna's little lizard had made of himself as he absolutely devoured the gooey filling of the snack. He was really cute. Most people would have thought someone like her would have been scared of little lizards, but Pascal was too cute to be afraid of. Especially since he was regularly with Anna. At least he didn't need a napkin.
"Um, h-how are you?" she asked.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 15, 2017 4:30:52 GMT
"Of course not. Pascal's not using it so it's all yours."
The slender blond slid into the chair somewhat hesitantly but Anna didn't mind. She knew that Namine was extremely introverted and very shy so it was better to try and keep her normally flamboyant attitude to a minimum. Thankfully for the sketch artist, Anna was already feeling far less perky and energetic then usual.
Pascal looked up at Namine for a moment before turning bright red, the same color as the cherry filling he was snacking on. This was something he tended to do around shy people, change colors to try and entertain them or make them laugh or just feel more comfortable. It seemed to work as Namine smiled down at the little chameleon. Anna grinned at her pet as well but the smile fell somewhat when Namine asked how she was doing.
"I've been.... better."
She grew silent for a moment, not wanting to talk about what had happened between her and Axel and Shadow. She filled the silence by taking a sip of her coffee before putting her journal away in her purse.
"But really, I'm fine. By the by, are you wearing a new perfume or body spray or something?"
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 15, 2017 15:48:38 GMT
Namine couldn't help the laugh that escaped her when Pascal turned red. She quickly covered her mouth to try to stifle the noise. Though the smile on her face faltered slightly when Anna said she had been better, but then tried to reassure Namine was okay. She didn't quite believe her. Namine knew when someone was not okay when they said that they were. She did it often, said it often. But found she was actually saying it less and less after everyone came together after her kidnapping at Vanitas' hands. She had people who cared and she knew this now. But if Anna didn't want to talk about it, she was certain she was the last one with a backbone to make her. Meekness won out.
"P-Perfume, um no..." she said. "W-Why do you ask?"
Did she stink? She fought back against a wave of self-consciousness. She couldn't wear perfume. The fumes made her head hurt and made her throat feel tight. Aqua said it was an allergy of sorts. Something in the artificial scents that made the blonde ill. She didn't mind. Paints and ink were expensive enough on her salary. If she wanted to have paintings and drawings for the side (for sale) then she had to be able to buy some of those things.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 16, 2017 7:36:43 GMT
"Oh, I just noticed that some scent seemed to be hanging around you. It's actually rather nice and I thought maybe you were wearing some perfume or something."
Anna gave a small shrug and brushed it off as if what she had said wasn't important, reaching for her coffee and taking a sip of it. However, at the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder....
"So how have you been? Sketched any new faces? Painted any new pictures?"
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 16, 2017 14:19:40 GMT
"M-Maybe I g-got s-sprayed by someone e-else's?"
Namine shook her head. No perfume around her. It was possible that someone else put some on around her and she got some second hand perfume scent. There were women who traveled on the public transit that doused themselves in a cloud that made even the people around them cough. Though, perhaps scent was something she couldn't really notice. She was always with herself. So she would get used to her own scent unless she changed soaps but even then noticing was only temporary. Unless she started out-of-body magic, which she was certain she couldn't do, there was no getting around that. She brushed some hair behind her ear and smiled tentatively.
"O-Oh, um, not really... I..." she paused. "I-I've come into m-magic and... I've b-been practicing that."
Anna wasn't like the humans who hated gifted humans. Namine's powers, or rather control of, were important to her. Her drawing, while she adored it, was put to the side until she could start to learn better control. The practice had done her good. She felt better about it in any regard. Still, a late bloomer was a late bloomer. She had her magical outburst when she was a child, but never an incident after that, mostly because she kept to herself out of fear drilled into her by her father.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 17, 2017 6:44:16 GMT
Namine stated once again that she hadn't used any spray and suggested that it might have come from someone else. While Anna nodded her head at the suggestion, she didn't think that was it. The scent wasn't what women would normally want to smell like even though it was pleasant enough and it almost seemed if the young blonde had a specific scent, it would be this.
Anna frowned in thought for a moment but quickly lost focus on this interesting find when Namine announced in a timid voice that she was practicing her magic.
"Oh wow, Namine! That's great! I bet you'll be spectacular at controlling your powers in no time at all."
Despite not knowing her extremely well, she felt a genuine happiness for the sketch artist sitting across from her. Namine was such a shy, reserved and nervous person that it didn't seem like she would ever really come into her powers or even want to use them. It was good to know that she was starting to gain enough confidence and belief in herself to accept and hone that part of who she was.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 18, 2017 2:54:51 GMT
"T-That's the hope," she said. "I-I don't want to h-hurt someone on accident."
She felt relief wash over her when Anna approved. She knew Anna was likely to but hearing her confirm it did the blonde some good. Namine was working hard to get better at controlling her magic. It wasn't for defense or to be able to hurt someone, just so she didn't hurt someone else on accident. The learning magic was a bonus benefit. Though Aqua scolded her when she caught the blonde doing magic for mundane things like washing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom. Magic wasn't meant to be abused though the faery's scolds were only half hearted.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 19, 2017 4:08:19 GMT
"Well you know what they say. Practice makes perfect."
Anna continued to smile at the young woman before turning to watch Pascal finish off the last of the Danish and lick his lipless mouth. She reached out and gently stroked him along his back from head to tail, watching as the chameleon closed his eyes in pleasure at the touch.
After she had come home from the disaster with Axel and Shadow at the labs, Pascal had been extremely anxious. He wasn't used to seeing Anna so upset before and something about her scent had been off....
Now she seemed much more like herself and it was good to see her interacting with someone positively. Still, the reptile didn't like how the strange scent seemed to linger about his owner.
Anna didn't seem to pick up on her pet's worries, however, and instead gave him one more stroke before looking back up at Namine. While the smile on her face hadn't changed, the look in her eyes was sad for a moment.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 19, 2017 14:26:14 GMT
Namine smiled. Anna's little chameleon was probably the sweetest creature Namine knew. Easily pleased and full of life. A very spunky little guy if there ever was one. Though, the blonde was a little worried since Anna still seemed upset by something bothering her. Namine wasn't particularly good at talking things out. Especially since she stumbled over her words. Maybe Anna just needed a break from the lab. Or work was getting to her? At least Anna had a partner in her work.
"I-Is... everything okay?" she asked.
A bold move for the little blonde. She didn't necessarily confront people like that. It took a lot for her not to swallow her tongue in the fear of the question. Lots of other people spent a lot of time taking care of her and her needs. It was about time she return the favor. Even if it was talking to someone when they were troubled. Or listening. Namine was good at that. Still, having asked, she was left rather nervous of the response. Was it something Namine could help with? What if it was something she couldn't?
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