[EP] Progress (OTA, Corbie or Curnen)

[st_oneswidow]

It was almost December, but the day was still more than warm enough to spend outdoors. So two girls were out in the sunshine, one fair, one dark, aware and amused with each other’s efforts but not particularly paying attention to each other.

Curnen’s fingers were starting to remember what to do with a guitar, though they were still incapable of being fancy. Sitting on the lawn with Rob’s guitar in her lap, she played anything that came to mind. Her sixth fingers were a bit lost, but it did sound like music at least. It would be some time yet before she could really play again, though that didn’t bother her much. If it meant she was scraping herself back together, becoming a Tufa again, it didn’t matter. And besides, the singing was always the best part. She wasn’t sure why this song, since there was no wind and rain, but in many versions of this same song there were two girls colored rather like the two of them.

There were two sisters came walkin' down the stream
Oh the wind and rain
The one behind pushed the other one in
Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

Johnny gave the youngest a gay gold ring
Oh the wind and rain
Didn't give the oldest one anything
Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

Corbie meanwhile was busy setting things on fire again, but this was different fire. Or at least it was for her. She and Regina had been practicing creating fire and putting it out. She set a circle of protection around a small stone, using what she understood of Cabaline theory to keep the spell literally grounded. And then she proceeded to do her best to destroy the shit out of that rock by throwing fireballs at it. It gave her something to aim at, gave her more than one thing to practice at a time. She was getting better at aiming and her ward was holding.

She stopped only to take the ward down and set another one, larger this time, on her knees in the road with a piece of chalk.

Comments

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie looked up at the question, then sat back on her heels when she realized the question was for her and not the girl with the guitar. This lady was annemer, that she'd stake money on. She looked a little puzzled. "No'm, I'm fine."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

"Are you sure?" Mary eyed the scorch marks again, but the girl didn't seem to be in distress.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie nodded, still puzzled, until she looked down and saw her effect on the pavement. "Oh. That was me." She cupped her hands in front of her and summoned a tiny flame. "It won't last. Hotel heals itself."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

Mary tensed and her breathing slowed down a little and she tried not to look overly defensive, but failed to someone who could pick up on social cues. "...Oh."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

The flame went out instantly.

This woman was not terribly older than Corbie was herself--old enough that they were probably in very different places in life, but in years, not so much--but that wasn't what made her think of her gran. It was the apprehension. Gran had looked so anxious, so betrayed in that moment she first saw Corbie's power, and the memory of that moment came roaring back all at once.

Thou canst, Gartrett.

Her face heated and she put her hands in her lap, eyes darting. "I-I'm sorry."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

Mary hadn't been ready for an apology - she hadn't met any witches who apologized for what they did. She also hadn't met any witches who looked like this woman did suddenly and Mary was conflicted. She took a breath and tried to re-hear what Sam had told her about people with magic here. She trusted her son - he was family - but it was still hard to change a upbringing of defensiveness.

"...No, I'm - sorry. I'm... from a different world where people who... do magic aren't nice people."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie kept her gaze down on her hands. "Yeah. We've got those, too. They fucked it up for everybody."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

She quietly exhaled and closed her eyes for a second as if telling herself 'get it together Mary'. Her eyes re-opened and she seemed a little calmer. "I'm still getting used to this place."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie nodded. "It's a lot of weird in one little place." And it was little, for a girl who had lived all her life in cities. Even if most of it only in one city.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

She repeated what Sam said to her over in her head a few times. She might as well see his statement about the people here herself.

"So.. you do magic." Even Mary knew that was lame.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

"Yes, ma'am," Corbie said again, her hands idly wringing in her lap.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

Mary wasn't sure how to follow that up so she stood there awkwardly for a moment, searching for something more than 'that's nice' which wouldn't have sounded genuine.

"...What can you do?"

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie shrugged. "Not much as yet. But I know how to set wards, create fire and light, work in dreams, ward off nightmares, cleanse spaces... Most of what I know's still theory, though. There's a lot I haven't had a chance to try."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

Most of that didn't actually sound too bad, but something caught her attention. "Work in dreams?" She did not like the idea of someone being able to get into her mind.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

"A little," Corbie admitted. "My own, mostly. It ain't magic so much as... Being able to order and guard my own mind, I guess."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

"So just your own dreams..." Mary could think of the usefulness of that, particularly against Djinn. "Your magic sounds very... defensive."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

It did, when she thought of it. Corbie gave a gesture that was somewhere between a shrug and a nod. "Not all of it. I almost learned about ghosts and spirits and engines and labyrinths, but yeah. Before I was born, there were lots of wizards who did a lot of bad shit to people. My gran wanted me to hide completely, but it was so hard keeping my magic in. Felix, my teacher, wanted me to know how to keep myself safe."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

"You might be the first person I've met who wields magic in a way that... doesn't seem to hurt people." Mary managed to say, though a little slowly. Might have been the nicest thing to say to a magic user.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie raised her eyes for the first time. "I don't hurt people, ma'am." She'd never be able to look her gran in the face after she was called from this life if she did.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

She had manners and she seemed so... nice. It was really hard for Mary to keep her wall up against this girl though she could hear her father's stern voice from deep within her warning her. Mary pushed some of her long blonde hair out of her way. "I'm sorry for... how I reacted earlier. My son mentioned there were people here who practiced magic and weren't a threat, but I guess I wasn't really prepared yet to meet them."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie perked up at that. "Your son?" She knew about most recent arrivals, but she hadn't heard anything about reunions.

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

Mary gave a little nod. "Sam? Sam Winchester."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

"Oh." Corbie blinked at that, because it didn't seem to make any sense. And then she looked again at this woman and considered Sam, and remembered how time did--or possibly didn't--work here and "Oh! That's gotta be weird."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_huntermom]

For the first time Mary looked a bit sheepish and nodded. "Yes... yes it is. Before I came here he was only 6 months old."

Re: tag Corbie

[st_rikingblueeyes]

And now Sam was a giant man-tree. Corbie's eyes went very big indeed at that. "Ohhhhh..."

And how was Sam taking this? How would she take something like this? If her own mother had appeared from that time of Corbie's own life, Corbie would be older than her.