[?] I love your projection, but I don't love you

[shibrogane]

Quote:

1. Lily
2. America
3. Horace
4. Wilbur
5. Rabbit
6. Jeremiah
7. Algie

Smerdle

Your children
To: "Rabbit Vaughn"
From: e.fitz.0191@riderwaite.edu

Hello,
I'd like to speak to you when you have a moment, Bennett. It's about those eggs I gave you when we first met.
Email me back with a time and place.
-Father

 

[Smerdle]

shibrogane

Re: Your children
To: e.fitz.0191@riderwaite.edu
From: iamthevaughn@gmail.com

Father,

I'm free at 7 after work. Is Darlene's okay?

Bennett

The work day crawled after Rabbit hit send, culminating in a mad rush from Bibliophile to the bar that left him breathless upon arrival. He'd had a cigarette along the way, and as he pushed open the door, he made even more of a momentary spectacle of himself by fanning his coat around him to try and get rid of some of the smell. He had always been anxious around Ezra, anxious and concerned, and those feelings had only heightened following the conference. Adding a casual mention of the sirens sprinkled fear into the mix, but in this very rare instance Rabbit held it all down, deliberately slowing his breathing as he looked around Darlene's.  

[shibrogane]

Ezra had picked one of the booths on the darker side of the bar. He didn't wave when he spotted Rabbit, but he did nod and make the universal come here gesture, which was about as friendly as Ezra ever got.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Good evening, Father," Rabbit said, taking a seat and letting his jacket slide off of his arms to pool behind him. "I hope you're doing well." He folded his hands, congratulating himself on refraining from demanding to know what was wrong with his kids and holding back any comments on the unseemly public drunkenness of others.

"You wanted to discuss the eggs?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"It's come to my attention that there are those among your number who desire to kill them," said Ezra. "I can tell you who. And I will. But in return, I need you to do something for me. It isn't much. It won't hurt you or the children. But it must be done, Bennett, without delay."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Rabbit was flighty and unwise, but he wasn't particularly stupid. He had been told he needed to protect the sirens, and for the most part he had, thankful that others had picked up the slack when he had stumbled into selfishness. But that protection had been primarily against kidnapping and servitude, not death. Nev and Sy wouldn't like it, but it was clear he would have to up his game. A part of him didn't want to know specifics, in case he had trusted these people he would now have to fight, but he nodded anyway.

"What do you need me to do?"

Had it been anyone else, he would have led with something along the lines of 'why do you need an exchange of services in order to help children, you monster', but Ezra wasn't subject to the same rules as most people.

sh!brogane

 

[shibrogane]

Rabbit had never seen the Charter, but the parchment that Ezra placed on the table between them was clearly some magical working. "I need you to revoke your permission for the Charter," he said. "Odal's deadline is coming, so there is really no time to waste, dear boy."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Oh."

Rabbit pulled his hands back and clasped them closer to his chest, unable to find anything to look at that didn't shame him. He finally closed his eyes just before he spoke, his voice low.

"For some reason I thought we'd do that at the same time we were making the new one. I... well... are you sure weakening things now won't let something out?" He straightened, eyes still closed. "I'm not saying no. I just don't want to make any more mistakes."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"The Charter is an all-or-nothing proposition," said Ezra. "Nothing will get out; the magic will only disperse and make it that much easier for the remaining pieces to be destroyed. Remember, this is only half of the actual construct; there is still its... human incarnation."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Rabbit nodded, extending his hands again and resting them on the table. He paused and breathed, then opened his eyes with a nervous smile that barely held up. Its human incarnation indeed. If he hadn't already felt badly enough, there was that.

"Okay, then. Sure. How do I do it?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra smiled. "Press your thumb to one of the line junctures," he said. "The spells on the paper will do the rest."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He didn't ask which one. Rabbit held his left hand over the paper, twisted his wrist until it was just so, and lowered it where indicated.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra pressed Rabbit's thumb to the paper. It burned--hurt--but the pain was negligible, like scratching a sunburn. Rabbit had had worse.

When the pain ended, Rabbit's thumbprint shone in blood on the second Charter. Then it dried, too fast. "Thank you, Bennett," said Ezra, and he put the paper away. He steepled his fingers there between them, leaning over the table. "Some of your peers have discovered where the Sirens came from. They were created as a method to detect the opening of the cage, the release of the great Enemy. You knew that already.

"But they're an integral part of the Cage as well--and in order to break the first sigil, all of the pieces must be destroyed as well. For that, your children would have to die." Ezra didn't seem unsympathetic. He sounded like he hated to carry this news. His expression was regretful. "The ones who know if this, the ones you need to watch, are Jeremiah Mercer, America Jones, and Shun Kuroda. No doubt Algernon knows as well. Preacher Maria..." Ezra closed his eyes. "Those are the ones I know of with certainty. There may be more. I would be cautious, were I you."

Smerdle

EZRA'S KINDNESS
Rabbit cannot reveal just what passed between him and Ezra in this thread, or that Ezra intends to approach others. Should he try, his left hand will begin to burn again; the pain will be such that he will be unable to speak for the duration. However, in return for this, Rabbit has gained a boon. Choose one of these three below:
1. Flamekeeper - Rabbit is basically a fire bender. His abilities are much, much stronger in the otherworld, but he can still light a sizable bonfire with his mind in the real world. His fire follows real-world rules no matter which side of the veil he's on. However, his ability to put fire out is poor, and depends entirely upon the material. Less flammable materials can be put out more easily than more flammable materials.
2. Replicator - Rabbit can replicate magical traits from another's physiology through touch. So, for instance, he could replicate Lily's horns or Zac's galaxy eyes or Jeremiah's scent. He could also replicate a were's current form. Abilities such as Aleksy's sight or Jeremiah's magic-detecting eyes that are not caused by a physical difference in the structure of the body cannot be copied.
3. Watcher - Rabbit can sense the strength and wholeness of a magical working simply by touching it. This works particularly strongly on sigils, where he can sense whether the Principals are whole and the intent behind them by touch. He can also determine when something has been used as a reagent for a magical working. How exactly these things feel is up to the player. However, should you wish to examine a meta sigil or working, please quote shibrogane.

 

[Smerdle]

It was true. He'd had far worse. Rabbit didn't even flinch through the sting, and when it was over, he looked between his eerily smooth thumb and his bloody print with curiosity rather than surprise or anger. The anger arrived all too quickly, however, though he was scared and hurt enough to turn all three emotions into a swirl of numb shock.

No.

If the sirens had to die to break the sigil, then the sigil wouldn't be broken, now would it. "I'm assuming you know of no other way to break it?"

shibrogane

watcher, please!

 

[shibrogane]

"I don't," said Ezra. "But I will look into it. I have resources you do not, after all. I'll reach out to you if I find anything."

Smerdle

it's all yours biggrin we can ftb on family dinner outing