because the lives of the wicked should be made brief

[somanyadjectives]

Comments

[drugdeals]

( Luke tries to grab a hold of the door, too, but his 10 has him fumble and slam into it. His knuckles are hurting, but he won't add insult to injury.

Shaking his hand out, he places a hand on it and grabs Robin. )

Per.

( He and Robin phase through the door and - Luke saves on a dex check so he doesn't roll down the stairs. Does Robin? )

[blyth]

[Shockingly, he manages to stay on his feet, though he's certainly startled (16). His arm wind-mills as he glances back at the door.]

... Did we just ...?

[drugdeals]

I was in a tight spot a few weeks back, and I reverse engineered a spell I saw done.

( He takes the steps down at a quick pace, keeping one hand in Robin's, small lanterns coming to life as they enter one of the tunnels and make there way down the passage.

He neglects to say that Sierra's skillset is more about her natural power, like Robin's, but nothing is impossible with magic. Almost nothing. Most spells or attempts at anything are balanced. )

[blyth]

Ah.

[It's still a lot. So much a lot. It seems to imply that witchcraft is some kind of science and one that Luke is well-versed in. He has so many questions that he can't think about right now, and he tries to shake off the weirdness of it all and continue to follow him down the stairs.]

So you've been doing this ... witch stuff a long time?

[drugdeals]

I was born a witch. I'm from a pretty famous coven, actually, in my world. But, one that's best left in the shadows for a lot of reasons. One of which --

( is this. the stairs level off and break away into a cavern that resembles a catacomb. )

I think we found your sister's secret tunnels, Robin.

[blyth]

Right.

[Escape. They're supposed to be escaping. He can ask questions later. He looks down at the map on his phone, and frowns.

Then he realized that beyond "tunnels" they haven't exactly picked a destination.]

Where do we want to go? My apartment is on the Upper East Side, but ...

[He doesn't want to lead the bad guys right back to Maud.]

[drugdeals]

Mine is Lower East.

( He lets out a breath he'd been holding, evaluating. )

Maybe, instead, we trap them down here. Long enough to get away. Not lead them back to Maud or my cat. Any more visions up there?

[blyth]

I don't know. I've never tried to ... summon them on purpose.

[He doesn't even know if he can. He's still very new to this.]

Though if we keep walking maybe I'll see something I've seen before?

[drugdeals]

( That's okay. He was half kidding. Half flirting. Doing bad at both. Not the time. Check. )

Yes, ( They keep going in that direction. ) come through Deja Vu.

[blyth]

[For a while it doesn't seem like there's much. He keeps his eyes going straight ahead, scanning furtively over the little details, to see if something clicks when something does come into view (12). A sign with strange lettering buried in the wall and he draws Luke to a stop.]

Wait. There's something about ...

[It takes a second for his brain to attach it to the right flash of a vision, and when it does, his eyes widen.]

Duck!

[Dodge checks, please.]

[drugdeals]

( Well, fuck, Luke's never been great with reactions. an (8) has him turning )

Duck?

( like up ahead, or, oh shit, Duck! )

[blyth]

[The latter. Fortunately Robin is fast enough (14), and pushes down on Luke's shoulders enough that they both manage to miss being singed by the fireball that flies over their head.

One witch tries to get ahold of Robin's shoulder (5 vs. 2), and does manage to grab him, but Robin will up the ante by whirling into it and popping him in the face (17 vs. 3) and there's the satisfying crunch of cartilage.]

[drugdeals]

( Luke has never been the fighter of the two siblings. Liv scraps. He mostly relies on magic. So, he tries his old trick, grabbing onto Robin again. He will probably regret this but: )

Per!

( Robin will feel the familiar sensation of elasticity and impermenance as the two of them phase through the wall nearest to them. On the one hand, big strong solid wall, on the other, the tunnels run along the sewage line so they both phase into the parallel tunnel. There are rungs to hold on to but, Luke misses them and goes tumbling into several feet of - well, yeah, sorry, sewage. (another 8, he's not athletic.) But he feels like they're in a different tunnel system - did they escape the witches?

Robin, catch the rung! )

[blyth]

[Aww, they romantically match falling into some sewage (8). Unfortunately for Robin he does not do much better, but he does scramble pretty effectively back out (19), and reaches behind him to pull Luke out as well.]

Well, I suppose I'll have to burn this suit now.

[This grossness is never getting out of it.]

[drugdeals]

I could restore it.

( A (19) and a (7) still work. He just does it clumsily, and definitely ruins the scuff of his shoe. It's fine. )

You know. Later. After. I'm so sorry.

[blyth]

It's fine. I have more suits. Let's just ... get off the street.

[And they will, making their way back to Luke's apartment where they will both take very long, very hot showers that miraculously don't tax his hot water and Robin chooses not to question it, as it gets the smell of sewage from him.

They still have a lot to talk about, but that can wait until they both feel clean again.

Luke lends him something to wear as Robin decides the suit is not worth saving, even with magic. He sits on the couch, flexing his hand that's a bit sore from punching someone in the face unguarded, and glances over at Luke.]

So can we ... take it back a bit? To the start of the whole magic is real part?

[drugdeals]

( Now that they're both clean and he has lit magic incense (and magically burned the suit Robin has discarded) - that smell! He joins Robin on his couch and hands him a plastic bag of ice wrapped with a paper towel.

He takes a seat, one leg under him and the other one on the ground. Tea or alcohol can come later. This is an important conversation. )

We can start there. But, you're the one who saved my life tonight because of your magic vision. What did you think was happening when you were having your dreams?

[blyth]

Well, I didn't think magic was real. I thought maybe I just ... was noticing things and processing them.

[That sounds lame, even as he says it.]

I don't know. The most game-changing thing I saw in it has been you. And I'm certainly not complaining about that.

[drugdeals]

I'm going to take game-changing as a compliment.

( He smirks, resting his head on his arm that stretches along the couch. He rests a hand on one of Robin's wrists. )

Magic is real. Something about you, or your family line's magic. My family are all witches. And, for the record, we didn't do anything to be targeted like this. ...Every witch is sort of being targeted right now.

[blyth]

Good, because it was one.

[Robin has been very much enjoying his time with Luke, and it's been nice to start to feel like he's been building a real life in New York.

But back to the actual matter at hand.]

Why? Is it some kind of witch ... culling? Are there supernatural police you could go to?

[Not that police are always the best option, but there has to be some form of accountability.]

[drugdeals]

( His head pops up again, chin now resting on his arm. )

Yes, actually, to your first question. There is something dark and complicated going on with a very old coven I did run afoul of - but this is different. It's called the Gauntlet and it's about power consolidation. ( And, culling. ) Usually, people don't try again. My guard's up, now, and there are other targets. And there are those of us that know about it and an organization my sister works for that's trying to mitigate some of the damage. But there's not one all-encompassing authority over magic-users. Covens operate within their own bounds. In this case, the rules are out the window. Temporarily. ( The hand across the couch rests on Robin's shoulder. ) I'm sorry you got in the crossfire. But, I'm not sorry you tipped me of.

[blyth]

I'm not sorry about that either.

[He's glad he was able to give Luke some kind of advantage, even if it landed him in the sewer. Then all the concerns that he's been sublimating in the interest of staying alive start to rise to the surface.]

You said this was in my blood?

[drugdeals]

Probably? There are a few wellsprings of magic, depending on your lineage, or your source. Some people can harness magic taught by them, but they aren't innately magic. Other people can say the wrong words from the wrong book and - ( he lifts his hand, fingers splayed. voila-style. ) magic. My magic comes from my coven. In New Orleans, the magic comes from the ancestors. But, there's a witch there, that draws from her own family line. The less diluted, the more powerful you are. There are also the darker witches, ones that sold their soul to - ( He pauses. ) I'm getting too into the weeds here. Yes. It could be in your blood. Do you remember anything magical about your childhood or your family?

[blyth]

[Robin shakes his head.]

My parents' weren't exactly big on familial heritage, beyond the fact that my father's family was a long line of baronets. They certainly didn't teach us any magic, unless you count the art of convincing people that you care in order to get them to spill secrets for you to use against them.

[His parents were not ... great people. But his concern is more to the point of:]

Could Maud have it too? Could they target her, even if she knows nothing?

[drugdeals]

( He'll get back to baronets because, what? )

She could. She probably has something. But if it's latent, or dormant, or it's like you and she doesn't know what it might be, then she's not on anyone's radar. Magic can also skip generations. It can be bound. Stripped. There are explanations.