[ It's not often Anna ends up awakening in America.
The pain of deep purple and red bruises on her back tell her she's gone a long way this time.
She stands there, in the middle of the busy evening sidewalk, annoying locals as she stares down at the concrete under her bare and bloodied feet. There's no doubt she gives off the look of a woman who just escaped something horrible, or one of the druggie homeless. Her lace white dress ends at her knees and has an open back, making the nasty bruises on her back hard to miss. And her long blonde hair looks windswept or maybe never brushed.
But her green eyes are sharp, clear and alert. Green, sharp, clear, alert and suddenly looking directly at Joshua like she can see his very soul. ] I think I had a dream about death. Or perhaps it was life? [ A couple light steps toward him and suddenly her magic is buzzing in the air, static electricity just waiting for someone to shuffle their feet. It's not violent, however, simply everywhere and uncontrolled. It reaches towards his unabashedly with a gentle touch - soft as a bumblebee's fur. ] They're both the same to you, aren't they?
( There's something weird going on. "A disturbance in the force" or whatever, he feels the shift before he actually notices her – but once he spots the woman, it's impossible to look anywhere else. There's no doubting that she's the cause of the rhythmic thrum buzzing around underneath his skin, and he has to approach.
Not least of all because he's pretty sure she knows every single one of his secrets, just from a few seconds of eye contact. By the time he stops in front of her, the gentle thrum has become a carbonated fizz that makes him want to wriggle his fingers.
She's powerful, that much is clear, but...not dangerous, he doesn't think. )
Um.
( Eloquent as ever, Joshua's jaw flaps a little before he picks himself up clearing his throat to try again. )
How do you know that? ( magic, bro ) Never mind. Shit, are you okay? Do you need help?
[ His immediate concern causes the corners of her lips to quirk upwards. The moment is short-lived however when someone walking by gives her a shoulder check and she can't help but wince. ]
Oh, wow, I'm okay, thank you. Do I need help?
[ She looks down at her hands, turning them palm up before turning them to look at their backs. ] I'm not sure. I don't think so... [ Her head tips to the side slightly. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. ] Where are we? You're American. [ And her accent is decidedly not. It's an odd mix of English and South African.
Her gaze slides past him to watch some people crossing the street. ] A whole hive, right here. [ Her distraction fades and she's looking at him again. ] You must like bees. They're magic too, you know.
[ Almost like a drop of dye in water - her magic continues to spread around them. Passersby don't seem to notice, not like another witch would. ]
( Joshua mostly talks to dead things and as such shouldn't find many things bizarre anymore, but this interaction really takes the cake.
She's leaking out all over the place though – Joshua doesn't exactly spend a lot of time around other magic users, mostly by choice, but he's not an idiot. Even non-witches are going to start noticing something is up soon, so he gestures down the street with a loose flap of his hand. )
I've got a shop. No bees, but there's some food. A first aid kit. I'm not much of a healer. ( That much he doubts is a surprise to Anna. He's sure that she can feel the deathly nature of his magic as much as he can feel heaven radiating from hers. ) Do you want to go there? I just...I think we should get off the street.
[ The apology causes her eyebrows to knit together in confusion. Despite her look, she doesn't say anything about it.
It's always harder to rein it in when she first awakens. Her magic seems to have a mind of its own. Not that she does much reining to begin with. Then again, she's not usually in such heavily populated places.
Anna mulls it over before nodding at him. ]
Sure, what sort of shop is it?
[ The fact that he mentions healing is odd, but Anna won't judge anyone for being odd. Her feet, while crusted with blood, have long healed. And her back? Nothing ever fixes that - not even Holy Fire; if anything, it makes it ache more.
She'll follow him where ever he leads, Nina has always said she's too trusting. ] You don't heal? Not even yourself? What do you specialise in? [ Perhaps she's far too used to her uncle who grabs spirits and forces their energy to do as he pleases. Her father does too. But he doesn't just do it to the dead...
Often times she wonders what happens to the flies that buzz and catch her. Are they torn up? Sent to some afterlife?
Once she dreamt of a water dragon who promised eternal life for the reaping of souls. Maybe he ate them. ]
Weird shit. Nothing evil, it's just a good way to like. Find things.
( He's been moving further and further away from communities of witches for a while now, but there's still things that he can do. Mostly involving getting rid of lingering spirits, but he practices the less...ghastly magic these days, too.
The shop isn't far at all, and it's full of weird little nick nacks and otherwise useless stuff. There's a weird energy to the place – nothing active, but the imprint of overlapping presences definitely lingers. It's not unusual for people to get goosebumps when they walk in. ) It just doesn't work right for me. Goes wrong, I don't know why.
( He's still going to get the first aid kit, but by the time he pulls it out and looks closer it becomes apparent that his inexpert help is not needed. Right. That makes sense. )
Um. I commune with the dead, that's really about it. Sometimes I can persuade them to do things. What about you? This all looks like a lot
[ The goosebumps do hit her, but she isn't offput or unnerved by it, if anything she seems to perk up more. ]
That's okay! [ She supplies the words quickly, twirling around from a knick knack she was looking at. ] Everyone has a song they sing perfectly.
[ Suddenly her attention is elsewhere again. Her green eyes scan over various items, looking more like a hawk seeking a field mouse than the frazzled girl moments ago. But then she adjusts her weight to the front of her feet and then her tip toes, something that looks painful without shoes on. Slender legs take a few steps and then out go her arms, like a child trying to balance themself.
Anna turns back to him with an odd little smile on her face. ] Mainly, I specialise in helping people. Though I graduated from JBC with a suggested specialty in Exorcism. The removal of insidious, malevolent and malicious spirits and creatures.
It all sounds so serious though.
[ She steps closer to him and then lowers to flatten her feet against the ground. A pale hand is held out to him. And if he thought her magic was intense before, just wait for shaking that hand. ] Anna Aspen, International Helper at your service. I love your shop! Have you gotten anything odd in recently?
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The pain of deep purple and red bruises on her back tell her she's gone a long way this time.
She stands there, in the middle of the busy evening sidewalk, annoying locals as she stares down at the concrete under her bare and bloodied feet. There's no doubt she gives off the look of a woman who just escaped something horrible, or one of the druggie homeless. Her lace white dress ends at her knees and has an open back, making the nasty bruises on her back hard to miss. And her long blonde hair looks windswept or maybe never brushed.
But her green eyes are sharp, clear and alert. Green, sharp, clear, alert and suddenly looking directly at Joshua like she can see his very soul. ] I think I had a dream about death. Or perhaps it was life? [ A couple light steps toward him and suddenly her magic is buzzing in the air, static electricity just waiting for someone to shuffle their feet. It's not violent, however, simply everywhere and uncontrolled. It reaches towards his unabashedly with a gentle touch - soft as a bumblebee's fur. ] They're both the same to you, aren't they?
no subject
Not least of all because he's pretty sure she knows every single one of his secrets, just from a few seconds of eye contact. By the time he stops in front of her, the gentle thrum has become a carbonated fizz that makes him want to wriggle his fingers.
She's powerful, that much is clear, but...not dangerous, he doesn't think. )
Um.
( Eloquent as ever, Joshua's jaw flaps a little before he picks himself up clearing his throat to try again. )
How do you know that? ( magic, bro ) Never mind. Shit, are you okay? Do you need help?
no subject
Oh, wow, I'm okay, thank you. Do I need help?
[ She looks down at her hands, turning them palm up before turning them to look at their backs. ] I'm not sure. I don't think so... [ Her head tips to the side slightly. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. ] Where are we? You're American. [ And her accent is decidedly not. It's an odd mix of English and South African.
Her gaze slides past him to watch some people crossing the street. ] A whole hive, right here. [ Her distraction fades and she's looking at him again. ] You must like bees. They're magic too, you know.
[ Almost like a drop of dye in water - her magic continues to spread around them. Passersby don't seem to notice, not like another witch would. ]
no subject
( Joshua mostly talks to dead things and as such shouldn't find many things bizarre anymore, but this interaction really takes the cake.
She's leaking out all over the place though – Joshua doesn't exactly spend a lot of time around other magic users, mostly by choice, but he's not an idiot. Even non-witches are going to start noticing something is up soon, so he gestures down the street with a loose flap of his hand. )
I've got a shop. No bees, but there's some food. A first aid kit. I'm not much of a healer. ( That much he doubts is a surprise to Anna. He's sure that she can feel the deathly nature of his magic as much as he can feel heaven radiating from hers. ) Do you want to go there? I just...I think we should get off the street.
no subject
It's always harder to rein it in when she first awakens. Her magic seems to have a mind of its own. Not that she does much reining to begin with. Then again, she's not usually in such heavily populated places.
Anna mulls it over before nodding at him. ]
Sure, what sort of shop is it?
[ The fact that he mentions healing is odd, but Anna won't judge anyone for being odd. Her feet, while crusted with blood, have long healed. And her back? Nothing ever fixes that - not even Holy Fire; if anything, it makes it ache more.
She'll follow him where ever he leads, Nina has always said she's too trusting. ] You don't heal? Not even yourself? What do you specialise in? [ Perhaps she's far too used to her uncle who grabs spirits and forces their energy to do as he pleases. Her father does too. But he doesn't just do it to the dead...
Often times she wonders what happens to the flies that buzz and catch her. Are they torn up? Sent to some afterlife?
Once she dreamt of a water dragon who promised eternal life for the reaping of souls. Maybe he ate them. ]
no subject
( He's been moving further and further away from communities of witches for a while now, but there's still things that he can do. Mostly involving getting rid of lingering spirits, but he practices the less...ghastly magic these days, too.
The shop isn't far at all, and it's full of weird little nick nacks and otherwise useless stuff. There's a weird energy to the place – nothing active, but the imprint of overlapping presences definitely lingers. It's not unusual for people to get goosebumps when they walk in. ) It just doesn't work right for me. Goes wrong, I don't know why.
( He's still going to get the first aid kit, but by the time he pulls it out and looks closer it becomes apparent that his inexpert help is not needed. Right. That makes sense. )
Um. I commune with the dead, that's really about it. Sometimes I can persuade them to do things. What about you? This all looks like a lot
no subject
That's okay! [ She supplies the words quickly, twirling around from a knick knack she was looking at. ] Everyone has a song they sing perfectly.
[ Suddenly her attention is elsewhere again. Her green eyes scan over various items, looking more like a hawk seeking a field mouse than the frazzled girl moments ago. But then she adjusts her weight to the front of her feet and then her tip toes, something that looks painful without shoes on. Slender legs take a few steps and then out go her arms, like a child trying to balance themself.
Anna turns back to him with an odd little smile on her face. ] Mainly, I specialise in helping people. Though I graduated from JBC with a suggested specialty in Exorcism. The removal of insidious, malevolent and malicious spirits and creatures.
It all sounds so serious though.
[ She steps closer to him and then lowers to flatten her feet against the ground. A pale hand is held out to him. And if he thought her magic was intense before, just wait for shaking that hand. ] Anna Aspen, International Helper at your service. I love your shop! Have you gotten anything odd in recently?