Jacob McCallen (studyofarcane) wrote,
@ 2010-05-06 23:45:00

Meeting for the second time (Three years earlier)
He didn't want to meet her but this was something he needed to do. So he had slipped out of his Uncle's home after doing a minor locator spell. He had a feeling she knew this was going to happen. He had to understand what his father had been trying to do. He knew of only one person who could really give him answers.

He felt queasy when he found her place. The warm marble in his hand that he had used to find the right path here gets shoved into the pocket of his jeans and he starts pacing back and fourth before he calms down. He takes a breath then walks right up to her door and knocks and waits.

What does the boy of a super villain say to the woman who caught him? He has no clue.

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	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 03:19 am UTC (link)
	There will be exactly one full second between the knock at the door and the opening of the door. Amanda is in some of her best work regalia. "Hello, Jacob McCallen. You had best come inside." (Reply to this)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 03:22 am UTC (link)
	Doesn't she know how creepy that is? He doesn't quite frown but he pushes his bangs back and nods. "Yes ma'am." The first lesson his mother taught him that stuck was to respect people who are more experienced. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 03:26 am UTC (link)
	She does, but there are going to be professional matters at stake in this conversation, and she doesn't want him to forget it. "You did the spell reasonably well," she says as she brings him into the atrium of her home and gestures to a chair. "Do you like lemonade?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 03:30 am UTC (link)
	"I read the book. I followed the instructions. As long as you do that it's reasonably easy." he says with a small shrug. Some might think of him as a kid still but recent events changed things. He takes the seat then nods. "Yeah. Thank you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 03:40 am UTC (link)
	"If you want to cook, you follow the recipe just right," Amanda agrees, then frowns. "Of course, to continue the analogy, some people to prefer to barely glance at it, skimp on ingredient selection, and then slather the whole thing in ketchup thinking it will make up the difference." She gets them each a glass of lemonade and sits down herself. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 03:43 am UTC (link)
	He shakes his head. "Guessing what ketchup is? I don't like that. It's messy and often... not right. It messes with the flavor of how it should be." Also it's bad. But she knows that surely. He stares at the glass before taking a sip. He is sure she doesn't want to kill him. She could have the last time they met. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 04:00 am UTC (link)
	She smiles wryly. "Yes, it does." "Jacob, I'd like to talk to you about my father." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 04:04 am UTC (link)
	He was going to ask what that had to do with anything. But he shut up. A sullen teenage boy look crossed over his face for a moment but he slowly nods. "Okay." She has to have a point. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mysticantiques
2010-05-07 04:12 am UTC (link)

"When I was young, rather significantly younger than you, my father took me in a room of our home that had drawings on the floor, and told me to sit down right in the middle. So I did."
Amanda keeps talking. She describes something in some ways very similar to what Jacob will remember of his own relatively recent experiences, but depending on how well he's listening, and how well he remembers, there will be a few distinct differences as well.

"Papa was always a little overprotective," she finishes. "Technically, it was the Medicis who killed him, later, but after all it had taken out of him, he wouldn't have made it anywhere near old age in any case."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 04:18 am UTC (link)
	"He did it to protect you," Jacob says flatly. It's hard to believe. He can tell because he remembers that he had been bound somehow. "Why would he do that?" He was curious since he had decided his father probably hadn't felt much for him if he had been willing to kill him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mysticantiques
2010-05-07 04:24 am UTC (link)

"Yes. He did it to protect me, because he was afraid I could get killed and decided to keep it from happening. And while he lingered for some time, it essentially killed him."

A deep breath. "There's certainly little I can say that could make the situation feel better, Jacob, so I hope you will excuse my mentioning that your father tried to work with similar elements and got parts of it wrong-way-round."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 04:34 am UTC (link)
	"Well. He wasn't that good then," Jacob murmurs. He is still fighting with his feelings right now. No one can quite forgive attempted murder. "What did he do wrong? I mean I know he did something. But I thought I was supposed to die. I thought that was the point. And the reason he bound me like that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 04:44 am UTC (link)
	"Your father was not nearly as good as he thought, no. You were 'supposed' to die, yes. He wanted to use you the way my father used himself, but messier. Kill you all at once. Easier that way. You would die, and as a consequence, he wouldn't." She pauses. "But as I said, he reversed many key elements of the spell." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 04:46 am UTC (link)
	"That's dangerous. How come he didn't die? Messing with old stuff like that usually means death," he says with a wide eyed blink. "That's what Mother told me. It's why she likes simpler magics. Also why she could get caught so easily I guess." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 04:49 am UTC (link)
	Your mother is right about that possibility, at least, I'll give her that, but it's complicated. He's probably badly damaged his overall health, but he managed to survive." A pause as she sips her lemonade. "It is quite possible that some elements of the spell were quite effective in one capacity or another, however." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 04:51 am UTC (link)
	He takes a long sip of his drink. He is nervous again. It can't be helped. "Am I going to end up being like you? I needed to know what he did it's why I came but..." But this is just way too much. He feels sick again. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 04:57 am UTC (link)
	"It's hard to know at this stage how much, but probably, yes. Your life-energies have been fundamentally altered." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 05:01 am UTC (link)
	His mouth twitches with some feeling he can't quite figure out. "I hate him for this. I don't think anyone should have to live forever." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 05:04 am UTC (link)
	"Hating him is your prerogative. I'll inform you that you have many options. Including, if it comes to it eventually, not living forever. You haven't been cursed to never find rest." "But there are other, more immediate options of yours that I'm most concerned about at the moment." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 05:15 am UTC (link)
	He nods knowing she isn't going to condemn him for being human. And he might get to be an old man someday which is good. "What do you mean? I'm living with a family member so I'm sort of fine for now." He has no idea what the future holds. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 05:30 am UTC (link)
	"And what is he like?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 05:41 am UTC (link)
	"Different. He doesn't lie to me for one. He also wants me to feel safe.... And he knows all about Mom and Dad. But he doesn't act like I'm a bad seed or something. He treats me like I'm just a regular boy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 05:44 am UTC (link)
	"That's good. And where was the book with the locator spell in it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 05:49 am UTC (link)
	"It was one of the things Mother left me before she left on that job that got her caught. I was allowed to keep it." He shuffles his feet again. "It's called Belgrim's Guide to Beginning To Find Your Way." Not a terribly well known book but it has a lot of the most basic spells for people just starting to learn the ins and outs of scrying and locating things. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 05:57 am UTC (link)
	She recognizes the minor work and nods with miniscule approval. "Fair-quality book for what it is. You could do a lot worse than Belgrim's." At which point she pauses and looks at him intently. "But that is the elephant in the atrium, isn't it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-07 06:01 am UTC (link)
	"Yes and it wear's a pointy hat," he says in a dry tone. Then sighs and decides to stop being moody for a second which is harder than it sounds. "Are you offering to teach me the right way of doing things?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-07 02:13 pm UTC (link)
	"Yes." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	studyofarcane 2010-05-10 07:51 pm UTC (link)
	He smiles a little bit. "I'd like that. I'd like having a teacher who.... isn't very much like my Mother. She wasn't a bad teacher. She just wasn't good at.... Staying." His opinion of his mother is complicated. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mysticantiques 2010-05-10 09:00 pm UTC (link)
	"Staying, in multiple senses of the word, happens to be one of my favorite activities. I believe we can make something work." (Reply to this)(Parent)

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