strangetrip | [For Carlos, Dorian, and Molly] Take chances, make mistakes, get messy

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[For Carlos, Dorian, and Molly] Take chances, make mistakes, get messy

Corbie really didn’t know what she thought about this.

She had been making a shift into more modern clothing over the period of months she’d been here, because really, it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. It was all that was on offer, and the gray dress she’d come through in could only be worn so often. The undergarments were the hardest part, really, because they were right next to her skin, and that took a long time to get used to.

This? Was a leap of a different kind.

She stared at herself in the mirror in a pair of jeans, trying to reconcile the sight with the sensation. She’d never worn pants before, and it felt… different. Not as bad as she’d though, but different. Her legs were still covered, so maybe Gran wouldn’t disown her. She’d have to hem them, they were a little long on her legs, but today rolling them would do. She’d already done this. If she took them off and saved them for “later,” it might be weeks before she was brave enough to try again. Best get it over with now.

Best get it over with now.

While she was at it, she may as well get some other things done. After all, worst that could happen was she’d be right where she started at the end of the day. And if she was awkwardly dealing with people, she wouldn’t be thinking about the fabric tubes on her legs.

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"You could, but the good thing about the barrier and the color of the hotel is one, you can certainly see the Inn from a distance and two, you can only go so far before you're forced to turn back around." Which was both a good thing and a bad thing when you were trying to find a weakness.

Avoiding direct eye contact was a self preservation tactic. Soul gazes were not fun, especially when you were completely unprepared for them. He knew that it threw people when he didn't make full eye contact.

"Hey Corbie," he called out when he saw her enter the kitchen. He wasn't busy, just trying to work out what the hell he could make with the latest batch of ingredients.

Corbie wasn't sure she believed that, but as it wasn't likely she was going to go find out ever, she let it be. "I wish I'd got to know Harry better," she admitted quietly. "He seemed nice."

Corbie hated being a bother when anybody was busy, and that probably decided her words more than anything else. Besides, she wasn't any good at herding people around the bush until they gracefully dovetailed into what she wanted. Felix could do that like a fucking champ, but she couldn't. She just ended up babbling like an idiot. "You're a wizard, aren't you?"

Carlos wasn't all that busy, but he always appreciated people getting down to business quickly. Her question had him raising his eyebrows for a moment, then leaning against the counter looked at her. "Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?"

"No." Corbie lifted her chin just a fraction, a hint of stubbornness coming out under the humor. "Unless you don't wanna tell me how I saw you disappear, then I'd be real sad."

Carlos frowned as he thought back to when he'd disappeared in public lately, then he had it. "The snow day?" He'd dropped out of sight to avoid snowballs, and to sneak up on Buffy. "I used what we call veils - hiding people, care, buildings..."

Corbie's eyes went huge and she rose just a fraction on the balls of her feet. Not unlike the perking of an excited puppy. "You could hide a whole building?"

"Oh he could be a pain in the ass." Molly assured her, but the deep affection for him was clear in her voice. "But he was the best teacher I ever had."

Well only teacher except for his godmother, but that was beside the point. He was a really good teacher.

Corbie snorted. "Sounds like my teacher. Well. Felix's more of a bitch, but Mildmay'd definitely call him a pain in the ass." She didn't realize until after she'd said it that that was the first time she'd thought of them without it hurting like fuck.

He tried not to laugh, really. It was just difficult when faced with such enthusiasm. It just came out as a smile. "If you have to, yeah. Magic isn't exactly well known in my world. It's useful to be able to have gatherings in peace."

Now Corbie actually bounced, just once. "Could you teach me to do that? I mean, not a building or anything that big obviously but I'd love to learn veils."

Oh, her enthusiasm was so cute. "I don't know. Magic might work differently in your world compared to mine. How does it work with you?"

"It might," Corbie agreed, unconsciously bunching up her fists as if literally trying to hold herself together. "But my magic ain't like Regina's either, and we've been finding a way. And it's getting easier!"

He was silent for a long moment, thinking about the possibilities of how magic worked, and why it potentially worked differently here. That may be something that was worth exploring at a future date. "Then we could give it a go - if you'll tell me how your magic works, and you can teach me something from your world."

"Metaphors." Corbie said at once. She lowered herself down until she was flat on her feet and loosened her hands. "Felix taught me that magic is metaphors."

She held out her palm and summoned a witchlight. Hers were shaped like chrysanthemums like Felix, but purple while his had been green. But this one was bigger and dimmer than her usual lights. "This is called witchlight. It's one of the first things I learned to do, after I learned how to light and extinguish a candle. This is that same basic idea, only I'm the candle and the flame at once.

"I don't have to use this metaphor, though. Some wizards think of their lights as mirrors reflecting sunlight, or lanterns..." And then the one light became three, smaller and much brighter. Corbie's face softened. Good girl. "Or stars."

"Sounds like Harry and Felix would've got along." Molly laughed as she continued, "not at all. They sound like they're too much alike. But good teachers are worth the pain in the ass." At least Harry was.

"He was still teaching me, probably will until forever, but it had become more of a friend relationship, than mentor student. My mind magic is a lot stronger and more refined than his, but his offensive magic is in a class I will never get to."

Molly's mind magic was innate and up to par with older, more masterful wizards. But Harry had taught her how to use her power and that was more important.

Basic lights. Well, that would seem to be universal across all forms of magic, which made sense to Carlos. After all, it was useful, especially if you were a scared child just discovering that you had access to magic.

"That makes sense. Lighting candles is pretty much the first thing we do as trainee wizards," he agreed. But the way she described magic... then it would probably work. Our magic is led by emotions, but it uses energy to function." Of course, emotions meant it was so easy to understand why people went bad. Negative emotions were so easy to fall back on.

"Particularly so, with magic." Not only did it have its own rules, it had the distressing tendency to think for itself at times, in the form of various spirits and their priorities. "Well! We'll both learn at the same time, then. I'd prefer to have more books on hand, but there's plenty of practical."

Felix could manage not to get along with anybody. It was practically a talent of his. That she'd managed to get past his defenses was a matter of timing and desperation; to this day she wasn't entirely sure what he'd seen in her that made him treat her better than he did his own brother half the time, but she accepted it.

"Felix and me hadn't gotten that far. I'm still pretty new." Her amusement faded into something that was almost regret. "Harry offered to help teach me, but I didn't understand why he already knew I had magic. By the time I was ready to stop avoiding him, he was gone."

Corbie nodded. "Regina's been teaching me that. It was hard... but I'm starting to think that the ideas ain't incompatible."

The words were spoken almost before she thought them. "If you want, I can help." It wasn't to finish what Harry started, it was passing the torch. Harry had taught her and now she could teach ... well maybe not teach, but she could mentor someone along. "I can help you with your mind magic. I'm still learning offensive magic. Or we can learn together."

"Yes!" Corbie started bouncing up and down like a much younger girl Maybe she wouldn't have to stagnate forever. Of course, if she ever got back it would be interesting to see how the things she learned here were accepted. That wasn't about to dim her excitement, though. "Please? Yes!"

Jackson had asked Corbie why she couldn't teach herself, and it was a fair question. After all in any area of study you eventually had to take over your own growth and push yourself to new heights of mastery. Corbie had been trying her best, but the truth of the matter was that there was so much she knew she didn't know. And if nothing else, she needed people looking out for her if and when she fucked up until she learned how to clean up her own messes.

It was enough that she wanted to learn magic despite the fact that she could practically hear Gran's protests. If she didn't do it responsibly, she'd never forgive herself for it. "I miss books," she agreed. "I did bring two through with me, though."

That made Molly laugh. At that moment, Corbie reminded her of her little sister. "Sounds like a plan. The Inn doesn't have Ley lines to tap into but you really don't need that for the kind of magic I do." She pointed to her earrings and rings on her fingers. "These collect kinetic energy and can make spells more powerful."

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[For Carlos, Dorian, and Molly] Take chances, make mistakes, get messy

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