spellbinders | [JANUARY INTRO LOG

[ the double-layer effect hearing it both in-person and telepathically creates is certainly unpleasant, and almost detracts from how unpleasant telepathy is in general. jusis is simultaneously a little more guarded and a little less—telepathy is a coven thing, right? it's definitely at least a magic thing.

he is still extremely not comfortable with thought projection, so he passes on even attempting it when julius is right in front of him. ]

I did. Is there something you need?

[ don't tell him he was accidentally thinking aloud for at least four minutes. he'll die ... (but he should probably know about it.) ]

[ That explains things. Perhaps Jusis comes from a world with little magic, resulting in his unfamiliarity with it. ]

If you are unfamiliar with the coven network, I would advise a little more practice with it.

[ His countenance is not reproachful in any way, merely advisory. There's also no one around for a few blocks, so that dampens the awkwardness... maybe? ]

[ even with no one around, it somehow feels wrong to bring it up so openly, but he is, admittedly, new to this, and he'll trust the judgment of someone who seems to have a better grasp on it.

that's kind of a weird sentiment to bring up to a stranger, and then it hits him. like a truck. his expression immediately changes to one of exasperation. ]

That ... is easier said than done. [ stretching his metaphorical telepathic legs is even more awkward than making normal small talk. ] Sorry. For anything you've overheard.

[ To be fair to Jusis, the reason Julius picked up restraint so quickly is due to his experience in holding off the Singularity. ]

Don't worry about it. [ He saw nothing. Or heard nothing, to be precise. ] I have been here a score longer. If you need help, I'll try my best to provide it.

[ in time and with familiarity, it'll be easier to remember to keep his thoughts in check. on day zero, he has so many other concerns ...

... does he need help? first: ]

Thank you. [ for offering to help, but also for not giving him grief. he offers a hand in introduction. ] I'm Jusis.

[ The hand is taken and a handshake given - Julius' own grip is firm but not overly so, though his hand feels cold. ]

Julius Visconti. [ With how they both have blond hair, the similarity is somewhat striking... ] Do you know the way to the apartment building yet?

[ And he adds through the network: ]

If you have native magic, I would advise keeping it hidden. This place does not take well to practitioners.

[ jusis' own hands don't retain warmth particularly well (the gloves help), so he takes note that julius has somehow managed to feel colder than he does on a bad day, but he doesn't think much of it.

he does feel a bit bad for leaving out his own surname, but he can make amends to that later. the addendum feels more pressing, and he focuses on replying to it first. ]

I have nothing of the sort, but thank you, again. Your hospitality is most appreciated, Mr. Visconti. [ politeness warrants formality. ]

Vaguely. [ but if he's being honest ] I figured I would retrace my steps, but the city is much larger than I anticipated.

[ Formality is easy when both are honest... like what you'd get if you put two military-educated guys in the same room. ]

I can bring you there, if you like.

[ He isn't sure what Jusis is even doing out here other than just wandering around, as most new arrivals tend to do. ]

Unless you have any other engagement? I would not wish to keep you from it.

[ wandering around about sums it up. he wanted to get a better grasp of his surroundings, but erebonia's most modern cities pale in comparison to shehui. no surprise if he wandered off the main streets.

he considers it. ]

It would be easier to adjust my sense of direction from a familiar building, and good to work on remembering the route there besides. If you yourself have no other engagements, I would take you up on your offer. [ a pause. ] I'm not ... particularly comfortable with telepathy, but it might be worthwhile to practice with someone where others wouldn't hear my missteps as well.

[ an earnest request to hold some small talk with him on their way back. ]

[ Julius also has no pressing engagements, and he's not about to leave a newcomer open to being preyed on by their unfamiliarity - so his reply comes without any hesitation. ]

Let's go, then.

[ Though it remains to be seen if he can scrounge up any advice that didn't only pertain to the honing of one's willpower. For now, he'll wait to see what Jusis wants to bring up first. ]

[ this is probably the most reliable person he's met today. it almost makes him uncomfortable—he's certainly gotten better with being sociable and accepting help and all of those fine things, but being offered someone's time and attention so readily when they're nearly strangers ... is still weird. suspicious, if he thought anyone here had any reason to prey upon him.

but they're both members of the coven, so it's not like they have no reason to help each other, either.

he guesses that's a fine starting point. ]

Could you tell me what the coven's like? [ he shakes his head—not quite right. ] That's ... vague, isn't it. Obviously, I know the basic details, and I've met a couple of other members, but ...

[ how does he word his dissatisfaction? it's a rare instance of not wanting to sound rude, because many coven members have been kind to him, julius included. ]

I can't in good conscience swear my allegiance to an organization I know nothing about, filled with people I know nothing about.

[ he suspects that resisting will be a mite harder than what he's used to considering he's dealing with an evidently powerful witch, but if he thought it was the right thing to do ... well. ]

[ These are sentiments that Julius is not foreign to. Much of the same has been voiced by others during his first stay here, and he's participated in his fair share of discussions. He had been too preoccupied with the state of his own sanity in the first month or so, but he's come to see why it's definitely a problem. ]

We are not so much an organization as a group of fellow victims. [ This he says carefully while keeping his eyes on the road. ] I have only come in close contact with a portion of those stranded here, but the consensus among them is that none of us asked for this and many wish to go home.

[ Not for himself, but he's again the exception and not the rule. ]

We held a forum and decided that we would comply with Qri's immediate demands as long as she did not endanger us. She is said to be craving a sort of magical energy that we are to give to her. We gathered some on the previous world, but did not give her all of it. We still hold a portion as a failsafe, and will still continue to investigate her intentions. Other than that, it's mostly a free-for-all aside from some projects that others have initiated.

[ Julius may still need an update on what happened to those bones after the world jump, but that's the gist of it. ]

There is only so much trust you can give to a being who does not speak to us. I can introduce you to the group that I discuss with, if you like.

[ his eyes start on the road, but the more julius talks, the more jusis' gaze strays to him. this is definitely the most reliable person he's met since he arrived here. moreover, this is someone who's been here much longer than anyone else he knows of. there's respect, but there's pity, too. some anxiety when he realizes that could be him, a couple of months down the line.

when julius finishes, his immediate response is— ]

How long have you been here?

[ and then, remembering his manners: ]

I mean—yes. I would appreciate it if you did introduce me. I can hardly call the situation reassuring, but ... it is comforting to hear I'm not expected to blindly assimilate.

[ Jusis reminds him a little of himself - his past self, before the truth had come to light. A life that had not yet been destroyed. ]

A few months. Though I have heard that some people do return by chance, and back to their own world.

[ Julius went home, was proof of it - though he could not discern the flow of time smoothly within the Tree, so the temporal alignment is still up in the air. Everything blended into each other. ]

The imperative is to survive, I would think. [ Especially since how there's apparently a witch hunt for magic users. ]

[ resolute, without hesitation: ]

I have no intention of dying here. [ or staying here, if he can help it. he takes note of the possibility of returning, but he can assume there's no particular rhyme or reason to it; there's no way it wouldn't be capitalized on if there was a method.

though ... ]

This city doesn't seem to have any magical properties at all. [ he guesses. he has no particular insight into unseen magic, but from the way they treat it ... ] How are we supposed to gather energy that doesn't exist?

[ honestly, he doesn't know how to gather energy that does exist, but. this seems like a glaring flaw in qri's planning. ]

[ It's reassuring to know Jusis has that kind of resolve. ]

I haven't the slightest idea. Though there could be a conspiracy theory that the government is rounding up magic-users to drain them of their energy, supposing that they're doing the same to her, or that inn its heart lies the energy source that we are to retrieve; but I would not put too much stock into that.

[ But then again, they just arrived. There's still a bit of time, maybe. ]

[ julius says conspiracy theory, but with all of the things going on behind the scenes in the empire alone, jusis isn't so ready to dismiss the possibility. ]

What you're saying is it's a wait and see situation for the moment. Frustrating. [ he doesn't actually mean to transmit the last part, but it's not like he has a reason to hide his frustration, either.

he struggles to find something else to ask. he kind of wants to stew in his dissatisfaction, but that's not practical or productive. sometimes it's hard trying to be responsible and forward-thinking all the time. he settles for saying what's on his mind. ]

How can you be so calm about all of this?

[ not accusatory. an earnest question. ]

[ Again, a sentiment that he's not unfamiliar with. He might have been in the same position if not for the key currently within his body. ]

It is frustrating. [ Jusis isn't wrong to feel this way. ] The main thing we lack is knowledge. In order to formulate a plan, more of it is necessary. However, that's not the only thing we can do now, I think.

[ As for Jusis' question, that can't be answered easily just yet. ]

If we can't derive the truth from a direct approach, then passive gathering can also work. Being around the city might lend us clues, or allow us to pick up new members. [ Like what he's doing now. ] There is usually no obvious strategy, but there is always something we can do, even if it's small. I find it staves off the frustration.

[ Of course, what he's not voicing is the fact that his own problems occupy a fair bit of his time. ]

Edited 2018-01-11 04:48 (UTC)

[ being around the city has mostly rubbed salt in the freshly opened wound. it's unavoidable, of course; he can't opt out of engaging with his new environment, but not having something concrete to focus on makes it more difficult to push down his feelings. ]

That's a good perspective to have. [ there's always something we can do is basically the foundation of class vii. it's not that he's forgotten, but ... ] Honestly, I feel the same way, but ... I suppose I'm just having trouble focusing.

[ a rare confession of weakness, but to hear it from the start again, but with less sugarcoating—that it's frustrating, that they're victims, that he's in a place with a virtual target on his neck (never more grateful to wear a cravat than today)—reopens that can of worms entirely.

he would hate to come off as weak-willed, though. ]

It's a lot to get used to. It might take me some time to adjust. [ but he will. ] Until then, thank you for your patience.

[ These words, much like their entire conversation, rings of something he had voiced before. Not just for the situation they've been placed in, but also on a deeper level of principle. It's enough to make him stop walking and turn around to face Jusis, giving him another look of appraisal from head to toe.

There really is too much similarity between them. It's a little unsettling, but it also leaves him with a clear direction of what to do. History, even if only obliquely similar, must not be allowed to repeat itself. ]

Don't worry about it. Let me help you. I was in your position, once.

[ He closes his eyes for a moment, and in that instant a brief memory slips through his guard - a field of lush green and white trees beneath a blue, untainted sky. ]

How old are you?

Edited (bwuh grammar) 2018-01-11 07:22 (UTC)

[ jusis has to stop himself from nearly bumping into julius—lost in thoughts, as they say. at first, he worries, realizing how far he's slipped out of his usual composure. he can't imagine he seems particularly capable in this state, and he would hate for it to be the first impression he makes—

but that's a much more pleasant response than he anticipated, all things considered. ]

I— [ jusis shuts his eyes, too, but it's because he's biting back his reflexive desire to say something about how he doesn't need the help. ] I'm eighteen. Why?

[ Eighteen.

Sure, Julius was not so confident in himself at that age, but there was the same pursuit of a best, correct plan present. He would have about the same response if placed into this situation. The events two years later would be what changed him, but that's hardly an experience to foist on someone else.

What should he do? ]

... you remind me of someone. [ Right, let this half-truth be a convenient vector for his concern. ] They worked alone to help others, and befell an uncertain fate. I would not let the same happen to you.

[ Uncertain is what he says, but the brief sadness in his eyes suggest otherwise. ]

Edited 2018-01-11 16:52 (UTC)

[ this ... is clearly a personal matter for julius. and, honestly, it feels like a statement that should be directed to rean more than it should be directed at him—jusis had a similar conversation in reverse one night in bareahard, as he recalls ...

it's ... complicated. it's not that he can't rely on others—he would be an awful classmate if he couldn't—but he's a man who loves his boundaries, if nothing else. ]

Like I said, I have no intention of dying here. [ no uncertain fates for him, thanks. ] I know rushing into things alone is a fool's errand. While it pains me to hear about your acquaintance, I assure you I'm more than aware of the merits of teamwork.

[ in the practical sense. ]

Your concern is appreciated but misplaced, Mr. Visconti.

[ jusis shines on the defensive. ]

[ He wants to believe this is true. Maybe the fact that they just met is instilling doubt in his mind, but it's a worry that he still can't shake. There would always be unforeseen dangers that cannot be rectified by one man alone, and Jusis is by himself here.

But it wouldn't help the young man if he voiced his own (now possibly irrelevant) concerns, so he'll compose himself instantly and give a nod. ]

I understand. [ Best carry his past alone than burden it on others. A fear of death not of himself, but of others. ] I just worry too much...

[ BUT ANYWAY!! ]

We should be almost there. [ Two guys walking down the street in complete silence. Good thing no one else is around to find it strange. ]

Edited 2018-01-12 03:21 (UTC)

[ what kind of run-down back alley did they end up in to have all this privacy ... jusis is grateful for it, anyway.

he's relieved that the issue isn't pressed further, but he feels like he should qualify his statements after being asked about his age. he offers a reassuring, confident smile. ]

I'm a military academy student. I've spent most of the past year dealing with strange and dangerous occurrences alongside my classmates, so I swear I was just caught off-guard.

[ there are plenty of people with less training and experience who would need julius' concern more. ]

If you must worry, I'm sure there are others who are in a worse position than I am.

works for me /o/ i was gonna ask what you wanted to do but i forgot forgive me

no worries!!

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